Revealed the scale of Russian losses: a captured occupier shared how he ended up in the war

Revealed the scale of Russian losses: a captured occupier shared how he ended up in the war

Russian prisoner of war Ilya Taltaev, a native of the Kemerovo region, spoke about how he ended up at war against Ukraine, what he saw on the front lines, and the losses his comrades suffered. According to him, only a few from the entire company remained alive after the assault.

The relevant footage was shown by the Ukrainian Airborne Assault Forces. The 30-year-old Taltaev is a private in the 2nd assault company of the 106th Airborne Division of the Russian Armed Forces. He was captured in March 2025 in the Sumy region, near the settlement of Yunakivka.

Before joining the army, he worked as a locksmith at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, manufacturing parts for Su-30, Yak-130, and MS-21 aircraft. After long deliberation and despite his family’s protests, he signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence. He claims he made this decision "for ideological reasons"—saying he couldn’t stand by when "the country needs help."

"Men are going to the front, people are fighting, and I’m sitting in warmth… I decided to be with the people," he said.

Taltaev recounted that he was wounded on the first day of combat. During one of the assaults, a group of four got into a skirmish, and losses began almost immediately: one was killed, another was seriously wounded, and one was finished off on the spot. Taltaev himself was wounded twice.

According to him, this time almost no one returned.

"This time, almost the entire company was killed," he said.

Taltaev confirmed that the Russian command does not encourage the rescue of captives: on the contrary, there are direct orders to eliminate them.

"What they say about captures, that there may be some good footage somewhere, but we didn’t have that. It’s a brutal war that spares neither Russians nor Ukrainians. Our command, when they found out that one of ours had been captured, ordered to find and kill that person," he said.

At the same time, the occupant emphasized that the Ukrainian military, despite propaganda, treated him humanely.

"They didn’t beat me (Ukrainians, - ed.), not at all. No influence. Very friendly (they treated me, - ed.), I would say, although the situation doesn’t allow for it. On TV, we are always shown that Ukrainians cut, shoot legs, arms, cut off eggs, genitals, noses, ears. But I don’t watch TV, there’s propaganda there," he said.

Interestingly, Taltaev specifically noted that he belongs to the Shor people, an indigenous Siberian ethnic group whose numbers in Russia are rapidly declining. He sadly noted that there were no traditions left in his family—they are all "Russified."